There is such a thing as child abuse, and it should be illegal, but unless you want parents submitting weekly menus for government approval the burden of proof must be on those who want to intrude on parents' freedoms. I haven't seen proof that the harm from SHS rises to the level of child abuse.
A British study found that SIDS deaths could be reduced by two-thirds if parents did not smoke.***
A U.S. analysis** of over 100 reports on pædiatric diseases concluded that childrens exposure to tobacco smoke is responsible for up to:
13% of ear infection
(approximately 220,000 ear infections in Canadian children)*
26% of tympanostomy tube insertions
(approximately 16,500 in Canada)
24% of tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies
(approx. 2,100 Canadian operations)
13% of asthma cases
(approx. 52,200 cases in Canada)
16% of physician visits for cough
(approx. 200,000 visits in Canada)
20% of all lung infections in children under 5
(approx. 43,600 cases of bronchitis in Canada and 19,000 cases of pneumonia in Canada)
136-212 childhood deaths from lower respiratory infection
(approx. 13-20 in Canada)
148 childhood deaths from fires started by tobacco products
(approx. 15 in Canada)
1868-2708 SIDS deaths
(approx. 180-270 in Canada)
* the number of Canadian cases is extrapolated from U.S. estimates
[Samet, JM. Synthesis: The Health Effects of Tobacco Smoke Exposure on Children. January 7, 1999]
[California EPA. Final Report: Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke, Sept. 1997]
** Joseph diFranza and Robert Lew, Morbidity and Mortality in Children Associated with the Use of Tobacco Products by Other People, Paediatrics, 1996, 97:560-568].